


It's the World of Ruin, but Midwinter can still be bright

by avianscribe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A little anyway, Alcohol, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Fluff, More Fluff, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Social drinking, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 21:32:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17149451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avianscribe/pseuds/avianscribe
Summary: Aranea pays a Midwinter's Eve visit





	It's the World of Ruin, but Midwinter can still be bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lukas17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukas17/gifts).



> For Lukas17, for the FFXV Writers discord holiday exchange! Happy Holidays! ^_^

The lights of Lestallum are a welcome sight, Aranea can’t lie.

It’s only been a handful of months since the Prince’s disappearance -- since Niflheim’s implosion and everything going south. Aranea spends so much time in the outlands fighting daemons that she almost doesn’t know what it’s like not to need a torch. But it’s Midwinter’s Eve, and she’s ready to spend it in civilization. She smiles a little. She’s glad to be here, even if just for a little while. She has someone to see.

She’s alone as usual these days, what with Biggs and Wedge holed up in Meldacio. She visits them now and then, when missions take her that way, but their skills are needed up there, and hers are needed elsewhere, and that’s just how things are now. 

Lestallum’s fortifications have been strengthened since she was here last, she’s glad to see. And inside the walls, in the light of the Meteor-powered street lamps, there are more people than she remembered, too. But still too few. 

She checks in at the main station, turns in some meteor shards she’d been hanging onto, and takes advantage of the quick shower they have available for hunters. Then she wanders through town, to see what’s changed since her last visit. 

There are a good number of hunters and glaives, as usual, though there’s sure to be more out on missions… but she’s seeing more civilians, which is a pleasant change. Pulling people out of the darkness and getting them places in town is annoying, but it’s worth it to see people settling in, making the place look like an actual city again. 

Too bad about the outlands…

But there is one blonde head in particular that she’s looking for and just… doesn’t see. She checks her text history. “He said he was going to be here, that idiot…” she mutters to herself. “Whose ass did you agree to go save  _ this _ time, Sunshine?” 

It would be just like him to take a sudden mission without thinking. He’d beat himself up later for forgetting he had company coming, but he’d do it knowing he’s been helping people. That’s just how he is.

And it’s not like the kid can’t take care of himself… He’s grown a lot in the short time since she tracked him down in Besithia’s hell factory. She knows he can handle both ends of a gun, and he’s done enough daemon hunting to more than earn his stripes. She watched him take out a giant daemon-fueled world-eating Magitek monstrosity, for Astrals’ sake. But when you tell a girl you’re gonna be in town, you’d better damn well  _ be there _ and not make her wait. 

She finds his apartment  -- a teeny hole in a back alley that she knows probably only has room for a bed in it -- and pounds on the door. No answer. She knocks again, but the result is the same. “Of course.” she mutters, and turns away. 

She mentally runs through a list of places he might be and explores all of them, getting more and more pissed. She considers climbing back into her ship and heading back to Meldacio while there’s still some daylight, when she overhears something and remembers Prompto texting about a new establishment that’s opened.

And that’s how she finds herself in the Zu’s Roost. After her day, she thinks a cold one would not be out of order anyway.

The place is hopping. Not a surprise, really. With the amount of light shortening every day, everyone’s worried about what next year’s growing season will be like. They’re setting up greenhouses in anticipation, but the logistics of arable land and light requirements are a problem no one’s been able to solve yet -- and with food a priority, no one’s expecting alcohol to be in good supply until full daylight comes back and there’s a proper growing season again. Guess it’s no surprise people want to take advantage of what’s available now.

Her eyes take time to adjust to the lower light, but then it’s easy to spot his blonde head. It stands out in a room full of shades of brown. And beside him…  _ That  _ must be Cindy. He’s talked about her a lot, too. Aranea gives a half smile and puts on her best saunter. 

Cindy spots her first. They haven’t officially met yet, but when Cindy’s eyes widen, Aranea’s pretty sure her reputation has preceded her. Cindy watches her approach with a little smile. Prompto, meanwhile, is oblivious, chatting up a storm, telling some story or other with hand gestures and everything, hardly pausing to take breath. He’s so engrossed in whatever tale he’s spinning that he doesn’t notice Aranea until she bumps his shoulder with her elbow.

“Ah..!” he yelps when his eyes meet hers. “Aranea?!”

In an instant her irritation at him drains away. He’s just too precious. “You’re pretty hard to find, Shortcake,” she says. 

“I didn’t realize you were here!” 

“If you’d check your phone now and then, maybe you’d remember when you have friends coming to town…”

He gives a nervous laugh and rubs the back of his head. That much hasn’t changed.

“Introduce me to your friend?” Aranea asks, with a glance at Cindy.

“Oh, Cindy? You mean you haven’t met?”

“Not officially, no,” Cindy says as she stands and extends a hand. “But I sure know  _ of  _ ya! Aranea, right?”

“That’s me,” Aranea says, and takes Cindy’s hand. She has a strong grip. Aranea definitely appreciates that. ““You’re Cindy Aurum?” 

“Yep, that’s me! Nice to finally meetcha! Prompto’s told me a lot about you.”

“Has he?” And Aranea and Cindy both look at him. He… turns delightfully pink under his freckles. Aranea can’t help a smile. 

And neither can Cindy, it seems. That’s delightful, too.

Prompto, on the other hand, looks miserably embarrassed. “Sorry, sorry… I kinda… I mean, I didn’t forget you were coming, but Cindy was…” 

“It’s all right,” Aranea says, reaching out and ruffling his hair. “It’s not like we had a  _ date _ , or anything.” 

Prompto’s eyes shift to Cindy and back. “You wanna… join us?” 

“The more the merrier!” Cindy says with a smile, and pulls another chair over to the table.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Aranea says, and sits.

 

* * *

 

It’s probably the best couple of hours Aranea’s had in a while. The beer is okay -- she samples just enough to have a pleasant buzz -- and the food is barely passable, but the company can’t be beat. 

Even better -- at the end of it, Prompto invites them both over to his room. 

“Not for  _ that! _ ” He says with a blush when Aranea smirks at him. “I just… I have a… a little something for you, for Midwinters Eve, is all. Both of you.”

“D’aww!” Cindy says, patting Prompto’s cheek. “Well ain’t you the sweetest thing.” If anything, Prompto blushes further. “If I’d known ya had gifts, I’d’ve brought something, too!”

“Nice of you to think of us,” Aranea said, sharing a glance with Cindy. Then they settle their tab. 

Aranea makes a quick detour back to her ship to grab a parcel -- she didn’t want to carry it around, if he wasn’t going to be there -- and to quickly grab a little something for Cindy, too, while she’s there. Then she meets them both back at Prompto’s place. When he pushes the door open, it confirms Aranea’s guess; there’s scarcely room for a bed inside, though he does actually have a small table with a chair. Aranea and Cindy sit side by side on the edge of his bed, and let him take the chair.

Prompto hands Cindy a package that turns out to hold a framed photo of the royal car. He’d taken the pic at a very artistic angle. It’s an old photo, since if what Aranea’s been told is right, the royal ride met its end in Gralea. And… it’s a perfect gift. Cindy coos at it, tears coming to her eyes. (Aranea guesses Cindy had a pretty close connection to the thing.) When she can finally talk again, Cindy says, “Stars, you know how to get to a girl’s heart. I wish I had something for you, too.”

“No need; I… I’m just glad you came by,” Prompto says with a shrug and a hint of a blush. Aranea’s sure he means it, too. 

Then he hands Aranea a package of her own, which turns out to be a little snapshot of her with Biggs and Wedge. She smiles fondly, looking at her long-time compatriots. She’s missed them, and… this really is a great picture. Prompto’s managed to capture all their best angles in the same shot.  “Thanks, kid,” she says softly. 

Then she hands over her own parcel, a long box wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. “I brought you something, too, Shortcake. Happy Midwinter's Eve.”

Prompto takes the box hesitantly. He unties the twine, slips the box from its wrapping, and pries open the lid. His eyes go wide as saucers. He lifts out one of the perfectly-matched pair of silver pistols -- grip trimmed with mother-of-pearl inlay -- and turns it to admire its every angle. She found the set in Gralea, in an abandoned Imperial officer’s quarters, next to an empty uniform. And since their former owner clearly had no need of them anymore, she confiscated them. 

But Prompto doesn’t need to know where they came from.

He looks at her, questioningly. 

“They’re yours now, kid,” she assures him. “Couldn’t think of anyone else who’d want them.”

His eyes… Crud, they get watery and she knows any second now he’s gonna start crying, and she just can’t watch that. 

Cindy gives a low whistle, which gives Aranea an excuse to look her way. “Those are mighty fine!” she says. 

“These are…” Prompto falters. “Aranea, where’d you get these?” His voice wavers, and he sniffs -- yep, he’s crying. 

Secretly pleased, Aranea gives an indelicate snort. “Just picked ‘em up somewhere,” she says. “They weren’t being used, so I figured I’d bring ‘em to someone who’d appreciate them.”

“Six, I do. I do.” He sniffles again, and sets the package on the table with a rustle of paper. 

Then his arms are around Aranea’s neck and he’s squeezing, and she grunts in shock. It takes her a moment to get over the surprise, and then she pats Prompto on the back. “Happy Midwinter’s Eve, kid,” she says. 

Prompto pulls away after a couple breaths, still sniffling, and rubs at his nose. Aranea meets Cindy’s eyes. “Here,” she says, and hands Cindy a hastily-wrapped mess. “It’s not much, but… Happy Midwinter to you, too.”

“Aww, y’didn’t need to,” Cindy says, accepting the package. It sloshes inside when Aranea hands it over.

“I know,” Aranea says, with a little twist of her mouth. 

Cindy makes short work of the bad wrapping job, exposing a squarish bottle filled with honey-colored goodness. It's whisky. An expensive one. Cindy blinks at it, then at her.

“From when I was running patrols at Fenestala,” Aranea says. “The wine cellars were untouched. The staff let me pick ten bottles. A thank-you for my help in the evacuation, or whatever.” She waves a hand.

Cindy’s smile is brilliant. “Well, I can't take this without sharing some,” she says. “Got any cups?” she asks Prompto. He stammers a bit, then rummages about the closet-masquerading-as-an-apartment. Soon they have a line of mismatched cups (one of them actually  _ is _ a shot glass). Cindy opens the whisky and soon they’re raising their drinks in a toast to the season. The whisky is just as good as its origins in the Fenestala cellars promised. They chat more, then, laughing at each other’s stories of derring-do in the increasing darkness of the past few months. Turns out, Cindy’s a pretty good storyteller. Aranea finds herself belly-laughing more often than she has in  _ ever. _ It’s refreshing. And she decides before Prompto sees them to the door near midnight that this won’t be the last time they all get together. 

With the darkness looming, they needed all the brightness in their lives that they could get… and she'd definitely hang onto it where she could.

 


End file.
